Obama administration: 'No regrets' over Gaza cease-fire attempt

The Obama Administration has "no regrets" over its attempts to broker a cease-fire agreement with Hamas, despite reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admonished State Department officials "not to ever second guess me again," after militants violated the peace agreement.

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"We have absolutely no regrets of working with both parties, with the Egyptians, with the Qataris, with the Turks, to do everything possible to put in place a prolonged cease-fire," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told CNN on Monday.

Psaki would not comment directly on the reported exchange between Netanyahu, Secretary of State John Kerry, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro.

The Associated Press, citing officials familiar with the discussion, said Netanyahu told the Americans he should be "trusted" on his read of Hamas's willingness to abide by a cease-fire agreement.

"I'm obviously not going to speak to reports of leaked private diplomatic conversations, but I will say … with every day that passes and every day that passed last week, more people were dying," Psaki said.

In a subsequent interview with The Associated Press, Netanyahu did not deny making the comment, but he said the reports did not reflect the "tone and substance" of his discussions with the U.S.

"I think the United States has been terrific," Netanyahu said.

Still on Monday, Psaki reiterated some of the administration's sharpest criticism to date over Israeli strikes that reportedly killed Palestinians at a United Nations shelter. In a statement issued Sunday, Psaki called the shelling "disgraceful" and said the U.S. was "appalled."

"The sign of a strong relationship is being able to speak out and convey concerns when we have them," Psaki said on CNN. "This is the seventh attack on a school. You've been following this closely. And what we need to determine with the international community is exactly the question you posed: Where do we go from here?"

She added that there was "more that Israel can do to hold themselves to their own standards."

"Every day, the world is watching as innocent civilians are killed, as children are having shrapnel pulled out of their back. I think we can all look to make an evaluation that there's more that can be done," she said.